In order to create layered, lived in, and authentic feeling interiors, we adopt a high/low philosophy when designing for our clients. This means that we include high street items alongside antiques or bespoke furniture pieces on almost all projects. Primarily, shopping the high street means value for money, which in turn means we can layer a room with more than you would be able to if you were only opting for bespoke pieces. This additional layering means schemes feel well rounded and include a variety of suppliers, materials and styles; these elements are key players in the success of our work.
However when turning to high street retailers, there is a bit of an art to knowing what’s best to save on, and what is actually better to spend a little more on. As an example, we typically, we don’t buy ‘pre-upholstered’ items, or items where you either have no choice or limited choice in a fabric. A white bouclé accent chair may be the exception from time to time, but custom upholstery, where you can select a choice fabric and even customise the product itself, is prime example where spending a little more goes along way. On the reverse however, our projects are full of marble side tables, or smaller accent pieces, like mirrors or lamps, which don’t really warrant the high price tag of something bespoke. These items are accents, not ‘scheme starters’ so they are there to add variety and variance, rather than drive the overall scheme.
Despite all the positives of high street shopping, there is always the risk of falling victim to trends. The aim of using the high street to provide an additional layer of interest or variety can then be lost because trend-led items tend to be the ones that date, or fall out of fashion, the quickest.
So how do you shop the high street without falling victims to trends, or ending up with an interior that feels more store-bought than tailor made? Read on for our tips.
Avoiding a particular retailer’s or designer’s house style
At the very least, only include one item from each retailer within a room, and never use the same retailer for the anchor piece in each room. For example, using a Soho Home sofa in a lounge and a Soho Home bed in the primary will immediately make your home “lean” Soho Home and therefore highly likely feel trend lead.
Ensuring a variety of suppliers in a room means that you are less likely to be trend lead, as force yourself to think a little more about what you like and how else that can be achieved.
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How easy is it to identify the piece?
We spend a lot of time ensuring that no piece we buy off the high street can be easily identified or linked back to one specific retailer. As an interior designer this may be easier to do than the average shopper, but we find that if we apply this caveat to anything “high street” it prevents us from picking those trendy, cool pieces that can easily be pin pointed. You want people to ask where you got something, not comment about how they have seen it before.
This method of shopping will force you to look past the trends and focus more on the staples. The pieces of furniture which have never gone out of style and remain a classic.
Something masculine, something feminine and something vintage
Shopping in this grouping of three means that you eliminate the risk of all your pieces having the same personality, which is a risk you run when buying everything new over a short space of time. What this will also do is help you to pause and investigate the pieces a little more carefully before you buy. I'm very aware that suggesting you buy a masculine or a feminine piece of furniture is like asking how long a piece of string is, but when you start to think about the pieces in a room, you'll very quickly be able to identify the flavour that they bring. Ultimately what this manage à trois does, is provide balance and layering, and with regards to trends, these are key to preventing your space from feeling like it’s all to current or under the influence of a particular house style.
You don’t need to avoid the high street if you want a high end interior, you just have to know how to make it work for you. Happy shopping/clicking.
